Hasan Ali Khan's judicial custody extended till May 7

The judicial custody of Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan was extended till May 7 by the Special Judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here on Tuesday, even as the Patna police approached the sessions court here seeking his custody for interrogation in a case against him of alleged forgery to get a passport.

The court initially refused to entertain the production warrant issued against Hasan Ali Khan by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna, in the 1997 passport case, saying the application was addressed to the Superintendent of the Arthur Road Jail, and not the court.

Later in the day, the State, at the instance of the Arthur Road Jail authorities, filed an application intimating the court of the production warrant issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna, official sources told The Hindu.

The court will hear the matter on Wednesday.

“We submitted the production warrant and the application to the jailer of Arthur Road Jail on Friday [April 22] itself. The jail authorities were expected to intimate the court here about it. They have done it today [Tuesday]. The court will now decide whether [or not] to allow…us to take him there,” a Bihar police officer said.

He discounted the possibility of the Bihar police interrogating him in Mumbai.

“We will take him to Patna, either now or after the Enforcement Directorate's investigation.”

The Enforcement Directorate may object to Hasan Ali Khan being taken to Patna at this stage. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna, has issued a warrant for his production by or on April 30.

“Our investigation is not yet complete,” an ED official said.

“ED not giving information”

Meanwhile, Hasan Ali Khan's lawyer I.A. Bagaria has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate is not providing him with information about the notifications issued in the case.

“I have always maintained, even in the court, that the ED has not appointed the additional public prosecutor in the Hasan Ali matter according to the prescribed rules, i.e., Sections 24 and 24(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code,” he said.

“Accordingly, I filed a Right to Information question with the ED, seeking copies of the notification issued by the Central government for appointing the additional public prosecutor. The ED refused to give the information.”

In its reply (a copy of which is with The Hindu), the Enforcement Directorate's public information officer, Samir Bajaj, said: “The requisite information/documents cannot be provided by the Directorate of Enforcement as the Directorate has been exempted [from doing so] under Section 24 read with the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act, 2005.”

The Worli police on Tuesday sought the court's permission to interrogate the Kolkata businessman, Kashinath Tapuriah, in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in a passport case.

Tapuriah's lawyer will file a reply. The court adjourned the hearing of Mr. Tapuriah's bail application till May 2.